Chapter 496 Want to have a baby~~

ust feels comfortable with her overall impression," Yue Yang continued.“That really isn’t…” Hao Ren hurriedly explained."Mom was just talking casually; you know best if there's anything to it. As for...Chapter 496: Want to Have a Child~~

Zhao Hongyu turned around and asked, "What is it"

The Azure Dragon took out a one-foot square box from his Amrita Finger Ring and placed it in Zhao Hongyu's hand.

Zhao Hongyu looked at the box but did not open it. Instead, she handed it directly to Hao Ren.

Hao Ren didn't expect Zhao Haoran to leave him anything and was surprised when he opened the box. Since everyone present were his people, four of them being Zhao Haoran's trusted subordinates and two being considered as family by Zhao Haoran, Hao Ren had no need to conceal things.

Inside the box was a jade slip only half the size of a palm.

Hao Ren picked up the jade slip and noticed that there wasn't a single word on it. He tried infusing his spiritual energy into it, and suddenly felt some mysterious characters swirling within his divine sense.

Atop these densely packed words was written "Mystic Water Sword Technique".

Mixed among the words were moving patterns.

Hao Ren observed for a moment before feeling dizzy. He quickly withdrew his divine sense from the jade slip.

The various cultivation methods he had seen in the past were all compiled into books, and this was the first time he saw a jade slip that required one to use their divine sense to view its contents.

The four guards of the manor noticed Hao Ren's expression change when his divine sense immersed into the jade slip. They were slightly surprised.

They had not expected that someone at Hao Ren’s lower-grade Geng rank could also access a jade slip. As they were loyal to Zhao Haoran, they did not privately view the contents of such items but knew that these jade slips required high levels of divine sense strength; otherwise, cultivators would be unable to open them.

It was said that this method of hiding cultivation methods or events inside a jade slip used to be very prevalent in the immortal realm. However, as the immortal realm continued to develop, this practice gradually faded away—some claimed it was due to spirit stones becoming more precious and sects unwilling to waste materials; others believed it was because they were afraid their juniors would have insufficient levels of spiritual energy to open jade slips, leading to cultivation methods being stolen by outsiders. In any case, such divine sense jade slips became increasingly rare.

"Ah Ren, put it away," Zhao Hongyu said.

“Mm-hmm...” Hao Ren stowed the jade slip in his芥子空間 (jade slip space).

The original jade slip had dozens of restrictions set on it. All were broken through by someone, and when Hao Ren used his divine sense to view the contents, he felt layer upon layer of resistance before finally reaching the deepest part where floating characters and patterns appeared.

"What did Old Man say" Zhao Hongyu asked them.

“The Dragon King said that if the son-in-law ever thinks about coming here to visit him one day, he should give him something,” Azure Dragon replied.

Zhao Hongyu nodded and finally understood that when Zhao Haoran returned from America to the East China Sea Dragon Palace, he had already made preparations for death. By leaving behind this message, he was waiting to see if Zhao Hongyu or Zhao Guang would bring Hao Ren here in search of his footsteps.

Zhao Yanzi's neck stiffened as her eyes reddened and she walked over to Hao Ren and Zhao Hongyu.

She had been staring at the small black plaque with Zhao Haoran's name on it, feeling increasingly heartbroken. Although she was usually willful and capricious, she did have a good heart, especially in recent months when she grew close to Hao Ren’s grandmother and could understand some of the elderly’s feelings. She felt even more for Zhao Haoran’s loneliness.

"Third Master… came here a few days ago," Azure Dragon recalled after thinking about it.

“Oh” Zhao Hongyu was somewhat surprised.

“Third Master sat in meditation on the high slope outside for three days and nights without eating or drinking, nor sleeping. He even didn't use any cultivation techniques to resist the heavy rain,” Azure Dragon said.

Zhao Hongyu remained silent, her expression filled with sorrow.

Among Zhao Haoran's three sons, Zhao Kuo was the one who had the closest relationship with him and also possessed the highest realm. Every year, Zhao Kuo would visit Zhao Haoran three or four times and spend some time staying with him each time.

But since Zhao Kuo's failed attempt to reach the Heavenly Dragon realm, he felt ashamed and has not visited Zhao Haoran again.

Zhao Kuo must be extremely remorseful now.

Thinking about Zhao Kuo quietly sitting in the rain to atone for his sins, Zhao Yanzi's red-rimmed eyes couldn't help but well up with tears once more.

She and Zhao Haoran were separated by a generation, so she finally understood how much he cared for her at this moment.

Hao Ren could imagine the scene of Zhao Kuo sitting in the rain, fists clenched tightly without moving. Perhaps, even this tough man had tears of regret in this downpour.

"Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Black Tortoise, Vermilion Bird, are you not returning to the East Sea Dragon Palace with me" Zhao Hongyu looked at them and asked.

The four of them shook their heads simultaneously.

Zhao Hongyu bowed deeply before her father's memorial tablet.

"Father-in-law, Zhao Guang doesn't come because he's afraid of hurting himself too much. You know what kind of person he is; he appears cold on the outside but has a very soft heart inside. Zhao Kuan has already left the East Sea Dragon Palace and is focusing solely on his secular business ventures. And as for Zhao Kuo, he says that he intends to reach the Heavenly Dragon realm and then move you into the celestial dragon cemetery."

Zhao Hongyu spoke calmly.

After speaking, she slowly turned around, pulling still-crying Zhao Yanzi out of the large room dedicated to the worship of dragons.

Hao Ren followed her out and looked back at the memorial tablet, feeling vaguely that Zhao Haoran was watching him.

"Madam, take your time, we won't see you off," Azure Dragon and White Tiger, Black Tortoise, and Vermilion Bird said respectfully as they stood by the door.

The red Porsche started slowly. In this estate that looked like a natural park, it drove leisurely.

Following the private road within the estate, the car passed through a lake area inside the estate.

Suddenly, the car slowed down and pulled over to the side of the road.

Zhao Hongyu looked at her hands on the steering wheel and softly said, "Ah Zi, go."

Zhao Yanzi opened the car door and ran towards the lake.

Sitting in the car, Hao Ren was stunned for half a second before hurriedly following after her.

Wearing a light-colored mini skirt, Zhao Yanzi sprinted across. Hao Ren pushed off with his toes lightly, nimbly stepping on the grass beside the lake and quickly caught up to Zhao Yanzi.

Zhao Yanzi suddenly sat down on a patch of grass near the lake's edge, her reddened eyes instantly welling up with tears.

Hao Ren immediately stopped in his tracks and sat down next to her.

Using both hands to wipe away her tears, Zhao Yanzi cried harder. She only had one senior family member who could be considered grandfather-like—Zhao Haoran—and now he's gone too.

Thinking of this made her tears uncontrollably stream down her face. Originally, living with Zhao Hongyu and Zhao Guang didn't make her feel anything special, but coming to Zhao Haoran’s estate, seeing the place where her "grandfather" once lived, and recalling the scenes she used to play in here made Zhao Yanzi's tears flow even more uncontrollably.

"Wow..." Zhao Yanzi was lying sideways in Hao Ren's arms, her hands pulling on Hao Ren's shirt and tearing off his buttons.

Hao Ren stretched out both hands to embrace her round shoulders, gently patting her back to comfort her.

Zhao Haoran was the last grandfatherly figure Zhao Yanzi had. This relationship with Hao Ren and his grandmother was similar. The difference was that Zhao Haoran lived in America, so Zhao Yanzi couldn't see him often, while Hao Ren always wanted to accompany his grandmother.

"I used to think he was very stern..." Zhao Yanzi buried her face in Hao Ren's chest, wiping away her tears with the shirt fabric.

"Hmm..." Hao Ren gently massaged her shoulders.

Her body was soft and carried a faint fragrance. But now that Hao Ren held her, he did so out of sympathy and compassion, without any other thoughts.

The scenery here was beautiful, with birds singing and flowers blooming.

Zhao Yanzi had intermittent memories from childhood to adulthood in this place. Because she felt Zhao Haoran was too stern, she rarely communicated with her "grandfather."

Standing on the balcony of a high-rise building overlooking the estate, Zhao Haoran only watched as Zhao Yanzi played around.

Now, when Zhao Yanzi recalled these scenes, her heart ached repeatedly.

In fact, this grandfather who always had a stern face and never said anything nice to Zhao Guang was also eager to play with her...

If she knew such a day would come, she would have used all her charm to make him recount stories from the past...

"Grandpa..." Zhao Yanzi sobbed loudly, more heartbroken than when she learned about Zhao Haoran's return.

"Alright, stop crying." Hao Ren wiped away Zhao Yanzi’s tears with his fingers.

Although sometimes Zhao Yanzi wanted to prove that she wasn’t a child and had independent thoughts, she was ultimately still just a kid.

"Wow..." Unexpectedly, Zhao Yanzi cried even harder, clinging onto Hao Ren's neck before burying her face in his chest.

Hao Ren was pushed down onto the grass by her, with Zhao Yanzi lying on top of him as if he were a mattress to cry on.

Zhao Hongyu stood several dozen meters away from the lakeside road, leaning against a Porsche and watching as Zhao Yanzi cried on Hao Ren’s body. Her eyes also welled up with tears.

"Wah..." Only after crying out all her emotions did Zhao Yanzi finally wipe her nose and climb off Hao Ren's body.

Hao Ren's shirt was in shambles, with a couple of buttons missing.

Little White jumped out from the mustard seed space on Hao Ren’s necklace and panted as it licked Zhao Yanzi's wrist.

"Little White..." Zhao Yanzi tightly hugged Little White into her chest, finally stopping her tears slowly.

In fact, she knew that with Zhao Haoran being a thousand years old, his lifespan would eventually run out. But thinking about how her grandfather left in such a way made her can't help but feel sad.

Hao Ren stood up and pulled Zhao Yanzi off the grass.

Zhao Yanzi instinctively wanted to shake Hao Ren's hand away, but suddenly felt dependent on him and instead clasped his wrist tightly.

When she was truly heartbroken, it was only Hao Ren who could comfort her. Although her relationship with Xie Yujia made her angry, in reality, Hao Ren really cared for her.

They followed the slope back to the road, where Zhao Hongyu was already seated in the car.

The red Porsche drove along a private road within the estate towards its main gate.

Xiao Bai curled up in Zhao Yanzǐ's arms, gently licking Zhao Yanzǐ's palm.

As the Porsche crossed over the Hudson River via one of its bridges, Zhao Yanzǐ had already fallen asleep leaning against his seat.

"Aunty, I have a question. Has Azure ever met her grandmother"郝仁 asked from the backseat as Zhao Hongyu drove.

Seeing that Zhao Yanzǐ had let out all of today's emotions, he suddenly remembered how harmonious their relationship was and wondered if she had ever seen her own grandmother before.

"Azure’s grandmother passed away after giving birth to Zhao Kuo," Zhao Hongyu replied.

“Oh…” 郝仁 nodded slightly in understanding.

"Actually, " Zhao Hongyu paused for a few seconds and seeing through the rearview mirror that Zhao Yanzǐ had already fallen asleep, continued, "The stronger an individual or race is, the harder it is for them to reproduce. This is a law of heaven."

郝仁 was somewhat puzzled by her implication.

"Let me put it this way, in a certain sense, dragons also belong to the category of demonic beasts, but unlike ordinary demonic beasts, dragon cultivators are born with human form and innately possess an invaluable treasure - the Dragon Pellet. The stronger the demonic beast is, the more difficult it becomes for them to produce offspring. For instance, in Wan妖海 (Wan妖Sea), the greater a Demon King's strength is, the fewer direct descendants they can nurture. A Demon King might have dozens of Demon Queens but to have even one heir would be considered quite fortunate. Conversely, those demonic beasts that haven’t reached the stage of transformation are lower-ranked and much easier to reproduce.

趙紅玉 continued as she drove the car.

“Mm-hmm…” 郝仁 sensed a hint of what Zhao Hongyu was getting at.

"Azure’s grandmother had exhausted herself during her labor with Zhao Kuo. The danger involved in this process is something you can hardly fathom. The higher the parents' realm, the more perilous it becomes to bear and nurture offspring; yet paradoxically, the higher one's realm, the stronger their offspring tend to be.

"A Dragon King’s line typically decides to reproduce when they reach the peak of their power in order to ensure that their successor has formidable strength. Zhao Yanzǐ’s grandfather reached his zenith at around seven hundred years old and decided then to produce an heir."

趙紅玉 explained.

郝仁 nodded, looking at the sleeping Zhao Yanzǐ beside him and realizing what Zhao Guang and Zhao Hongyu were thinking when they had her almost three hundred years ago.

Zhao Hongyu was willing to put herself in danger to give Zhao Yanzǐ better potential.

"Actually... regarding whether I should have another son, Zhao Guang has some differences of opinion with his father, which also affects their relationship," Zhao Hongyu said calmly.

郝仁 understood.

The Uan lineage had lost its dragon nature, making it impossible for their offspring to inherit the East Sea Dragon Palace. Zhao Kuo was focusing on reaching the Heavenly Dragon realm and wasn’t planning on having children in order to avoid internal strife within the palace.

Of the three brothers, only the eldest, Zhao Guang, could continue the lineage of the East Sea Dragon Palace, making his offspring most suitable to be the next generation's dragon king.

But Zhao Guang was concerned about Zhao Hongyu’s safety and did not want another child for that reason, thus creating a disagreement between them.

"Cultivation is an act against nature. My realm being lower than Azure’s grandmother’s made giving birth to her extremely perilous. If I were to have another child now, there's no telling whether I could survive the process."

Zhao Hongyu slowly parked the car and turned to look at郝仁, "So, I hope you treat Azure well."

Looking at her, he suddenly noticed they had returned to downtown New York.ao Bai stood steadily beside Hao Ren and roared towards Zeng Yitao who was shooting down from the sky!Bang!A massive fireball as big as a roadside boulder flew straight at the anxiously descending Zen...